W3C,
I would like to state that I am firmly OPPOSED to the idea of allowing
"proprietary" standards. To begin with, this seems to me to be a very big
contradiction in and of itself. How can something be a "standard" if only
one entity owns it and can deny its use to people based on whatever terms
they see fit? The internet was built upon open protocols and open
standards. Because they were open and usable by everyone, these standards
were agreed upon by everyone which allowed the internet to grow as it did in
the first place. With "proprietary" standards you'll have people throwing
patents all over everything they get their hands on with numerous patents
for similar services and protocols. I believe that this will stifle the
overall acceptance of any given patented "standard" because different groups
will have economic reasons for using a their own standards regardless of
their actual effectiveness. The end result of this is a "not so standard"
standard that is judged more for its economic quality to the individual,
rather than its efficiency, robustness, and overall usability. Somehow I
just don't see this as being a good thing.
I urge you to reconsider the long term effects of "proprietary standards"
and what sort of damage they could lead to. Look to the GIF image format
for examples of lawsuits slapped on people using a "proprietary" standard.
As a programmer I do not believe that this would be in the best interest of
the internet community and I hope that you will come to see this as well.
Sincerely,
Eric Montgomery